


Dead Man's Hand

by Lothiriel84



Category: The Infinite Bad (Podcast)
Genre: Families of Choice, Friendship, Gen, Post-Season/Series 06 Finale, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23174590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: He said: "I know I'm dead, but I don't wanna lieIn a grave out here where the coyotes cry"
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Dead Man's Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aoftheis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoftheis/gifts).



The first time she sees him, she thinks she must be going mad. She pauses halfway down the stairs, heart beating in her throat, as he trudges past her without so much as sparing a single glance in her direction. When Cornelia finds her ten minutes later, clinging onto the banister as her whole body shakes uncontrollably, she feigns a sudden bout of dizziness, lets her mother escort back to her room where she lies on the bed for hours, until she eventually convinces herself it was simply a case of her grief and fatigue playing tricks on her mind.

A whole week trundles on, with nothing to show for it. Joy eventually stops darting nervous glances over her shoulder every time she enters a room, and settles back into some semblance of normalcy. Then Dorothy’s letter arrives, and she’s reading it out loud for Cornelia’s benefit when she feels an unmistakable presence looming at her elbow, barely catches herself before screaming in fright.

“For goodness’ sake, Sebastian,” she hears Cornelia utter disapprovingly, even as she stoops down to pick up the letter she just dropped at her feet. “You promised, remember?”

“Well, I didn’t know she could actually see me, now, did I?” The familiar voice comes from behind her, his tone somewhere between contrite and downright mystified. “My apologies for startling you, Joy.”

She turns around then, her earlier sense of dread quickly melting into sheer, unadulterated delight – tempered only by the vivid memory of his lifeless body, lying face down on the edge of the abyss. “Sebastian,” she says, needlessly, something warm and ever so slightly bittersweet settling somewhere inside her chest. “You’re really – here.”

He shrugs, the lines on his face smoothing in the beginnings of a crooked grin. “Depends on how you define ‘here’, but yes, I suppose I am, in a manner of speaking.”

“You knew!” she turns back towards her mother, who is now rolling her eyes, though she can tell it’s mostly for show. “You knew Sebastian’s – spirit, or, or whatever, was here in this house, and you deliberately kept that from me.”

“We thought she was the only one who could see me,” Sebastian intervenes, finally steps into her line of view so she can address them both at the same time. “You know, what with her being an expert in the occult, and all that.”

“If memory serves me right, I don’t recall you being forthright about whatever it was you saw when I found you trembling like a leaf on that flight of steps, the other day,” Cornelia replies somewhat primly, her sense of dignity firmly back in place. “And forgive me for wanting to spare you the trauma of reliving our most recent loss.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Sebastian points out, aiming for insulted, and missing it by half a mile. “Well, part of me still is, at least.”

“I thought ghosts were bound to the place where they – well,” she cuts herself short, shoots him an apologetic smile instead.

“That’s a common misconception,” Cornelia offers by way of an explanation. “It’s not so much about a specific location as it is about the unfinished business still tying them to this plane of existence. I can only assume Sebastian’s is – well, us, I suppose.”

“Oh, that’s awfully sweet of you, Sebastian,” Joy can’t help but spell out loud, much to their friend’s chagrin.

“Yes, well,” he clears his throat, studiously avoiding either of their gazes. “Shall we get on with Dorothy’s letter, now, please?”

Joy shakes her head fondly, and taking a moment to find her place amid Dorothy’s neatly penned lines, she picks up where she left off.


End file.
